Sure, basketball is a team game... but individual performances can still spell the difference between playoff success and failure. In this feature, we take a look at the players who made the biggest impact, good or bad, on the day's results. Which player made the most efficient use of his offensive touches to help his team win the game? Which player's misses cost his team a shot at victory?

Here's what we've got...

Let us know how we did. Did we choose the right guys? Who would you add or subtract?HOT SHOT - Jason Richardson

Nowitzki then sat down for a playoff ritual of his own -- dissecting yet another first-round failure by the Mavericks.

Ginobili scored 26 points and San Antonio survived blowing a 22-point lead to finish off the Mavericks 97-87 in Game 6 on Thursday night, getting payback after Dallas eliminated the Spurs a year ago in the opening round.

Jason Richardson scored 28 points, including five 3-pointers, and the Phoenix Suns advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 99-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The Suns went up 53-41 at halftime and led by as many as 16 points in the second half. The Blazers tied it at 76 midway through the fourth quarter, but could not pull ahead.

Amare Stoudemire fouled LaMarcus Aldridge, who made one of two free throws to tie it at 76. Stoudemire's layup prevented Portland from taking the lead, and Goran Dragic added a rebound to put the Suns in front 80-76.

Phoenix extended it on two consecutive layups and a 3-pointer from Richardson to make it 87-78 with 4:36 left. Steve Nash sealed it with a 3-pointer that gave the Suns a 92-82 lead.

Sure, basketball is a team game... but individual performances can still spell the difference between playoff success and failure. In this feature, we take a look at the players who made the biggest impact, good or bad, on the day's results. Which player made the most efficient use of his offensive touches to help his team win the game? Which player's misses cost his team a shot at victory?

Here's what we've got...

Let us know how we did. Did we choose the right guys? Who would you add or subtract?

Dwyane Wade watched the 3-pointer drop perfectly through the net, then turned upcourt and extended the fingers on his right hand.

Heat 101, Celtics 92 (Celtics leads series, 3-1)

And he screamed.

"In kid-friendly terms," Wade would say later, "I was telling him he was hot."

That hand -- that player -- had never been hotter in a postseason game, either. And that's why Miami's season isn't over.

Playing what might have been his final home game in Miami, Wade scored 46 points, 30 in the second half -- both franchise records -- and the Heat beat the Boston Celtics 101-92 on Sunday in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. He made 16 of 24 shots, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and outscored the Celtics 19-15 in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James insisted there was nothing unusual about the shot, that he's perfectly comfortable taking it.

Never mind that he unleashed it from nearly halfcourt.

James' jumper -- from a spot that requires a heave for many players -- was just part of the show on a day when he delivered his fifth career postseason triple-double with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. That led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

"I've done some great things in the past, I'll do some great things in the future," he said. "But we're in the present now, and I'm feeling pretty good."

If Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hasn't already done so, he may want to apologize for calling his role players "dogs."

Because they put the Dallas Mavericks on the brink of elimination.

Tim Duncan had a miserable 34th birthday and Manu Ginobili looked as bad at times as his bandaged-up nose. But George Hill scored 29 points and San Antonio beat the Mavs 92-89 on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

Popovich called out his supporting cast after losing Game 1. But it was his Big Three who had little bark in Game 4.

Carlos Boozer had 31 points and 13 rebounds, Deron Williams added 24 points and 13 assists, and the Utah Jazz held off a late charge to beat the Denver Nuggets 117-106 on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

Carmelo Anthony finished with 39 points and led the Nuggets back within range late in the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets never caught all the way up and lost for the third straight time in the series.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Denver, where the Nuggets will need to win at home to stay alive.

The Jazz controlled the first three quarters, seeming quicker and more determined than Denver while chasing down loose balls and firing up the fans with every hustle play. The frustrated Nuggets battled foul trouble, losing Chauncey Billups while trying to rally in the fourth quarter.

Paul Pierce hit a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer as an injured Dwyane Wade watched from the Miami bench, and the Boston Celtics took complete command of their Eastern Conference first-round series with a 100-98 victory over the Heat on Friday night.

Wade was helped off the court with 11 seconds remaining, after he missed a shot that would have put Miami up by three points.

He had to hurt worse moments later. Pierce got the ball, dribbled the clock inside of three seconds against Heat forward Dorell Wright, then connected to give the Celtics a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit. Game 4 is Sunday in Miami.

Playing with a bandage across his nose after getting popped by Dirk Nowitzki's elbow, Ginobili returned to the game and helped the San Antonio Spurs hold on in a wild fourth quarter for a 94-90 win over Dallas on Friday night.

Ginobili scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter with a possibly broken nose.

That detail wasn't going to be known until after the game. What is certain is that the Spurs took a 2-1 lead by surviving the NBA's best road team, and Nowitzki torching the Spurs for 35 points after a shaky Game 2.

Paul Millsap had career-highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds, rallying the Utah Jazz from a disastrous start in a 105-93 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series Friday night.

The Jazz lead Denver 2-1 in the series with Game 4 on Sunday in Utah, where the loud and rowdy fans lived up to their reputation Friday and added to the Nuggets' miseries with endless taunts.

Utah limited Denver's Carmelo Anthony to 25 points and flustered him into five fouls.

Deron Williams finished with 24 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, while Carlos Boozer added 18 points despite missing his first five shots.

Paul Pierce leads the Celtics with 22 points, while both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins chip in a double-double apiece. After incorrectly picking the Heat to defeat Garnett-less Boston in Game 2, the simulation looks to get back on track tonight. Predicted score: Celtics 89, Heat 74.

The NBA2K10 simulation is calling for the Spurs to take full advantage of their home court advantage, holding off a late Mavericks charge to preserve a 105-93 victory. Tim Duncan leads the charge for San Antonio, shooting a lights out 14-of-17 from the field, and racking up 28 points and 14 boards.

Carmelo Anthony goes big in the Game 3 simulation, erupting for 40 points as the Nuggets top the Jazz, 100-84. In the first quarter, Denver outscored Utah, 30-17, and the Jazz were never able to recover from the early deficit. Deron Williams did all he could do for the Utah attack, racking up 22 points and 14 assists in defeat.